


A Crystal Camelot

by Ellanannette



Category: Arthurian Mythology, Arthurian Mythology & Related Fandoms, Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Gen, No Happy Ending Fest
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:08:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27336928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ellanannette/pseuds/Ellanannette
Summary: Merlin series... With a twist.
Relationships: Gwen/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Morgana (Merlin), Merlin/Original Female Character (Arthurian)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	1. The beginning

Chapter one: The beginning

Crystal scrunched up her face at the intruding guard in her bedroom. That was enough to send him scurrying off in fear.

He'd just come to inform her that Uther had requested her presence on the balcony overlooking the execution ground. She didn't want anything to do with the entire situation.

Unfortunately, she had to be there.

She was the captain of the guard. Second in command to Arthur.

Arthur had apparently caught this man creating fireflies at night with magic and arrested him. Uther had off course sentenced him to death.

Now she had to stand and watch this man die because he was having fun and got caught. "Fuck me," Amethyst said and leaned against the wall for a moment before putting on a blank face and heading out to the balcony.

Uther glared at her when she stepped out. She'd arrived very late, in the middle of his speech.

"... I pride myself a fair and just king..."

She trailed off and looked away when the executioner lowered his axe.

She was about to head back when she heard the cold, heart wrenching cry and turned around swiftly.

"It is not magic that is evil, it is you. With your hatred... And your ignorance... I promise you before these celebrations are over, you will share my tears. An eye for an eye, a son for a son," she let out.

"Seize her!" Uther ordered before she even had time to react.

"Get her!" she instructed aloud, basically on autopilot.

It hit her. This woman had just threatened the prince openly.

She watched as the woman whispered into an amulet and did some kind of disintegrated teleportation. The guards just stood there.

"What are you doing just standing there?! Find her!" she practically screamed at them and stomped into the castle to prepare arrangements to protect Arthur.

An hour later, she was staring out the window at the end of an hallway when she had footsteps behind her, it was Uther. She turned away and rolled her eyes, a scolding was coming and she didn't have the strength for it.

"You are the captain of my guard and I expect you to be on time when you're supposed to. Hell, you're supposed to be there before me! And you weren't paying attention to anything, I could see you staring into the distance at the corner of my eyes," he stated, fuming.

"I just didn't want to have anything to do with this case as I said before today but my opinions and feelings obviously don't matter," she said still looking out the window.

"I just dealt with this with Morgana, I'm not doing this with you now," he stated.

"Why? Because you know she's right? This man was just having fun in the woods outside Camelot. You didn't ask Arthur what he was doing in the darkling woods at midnight or query him for attacking an unarmed man. Or taking that unarmed man on his horse to Camelot against his will? Did you talk about that, no? All you care about is that the man used magic," she said, looking him in the eyes.

"All magic is evil and people who practice magic will stop at nothing to hurt us..."

"Is that what you tell yourself to help you sleep at night?" she cut in, "when Arthur and I escaped from Cenred's men and he was mortally wounded, we were saved by the druids who healed him with magic. But what did you do to them? Sent your men to slaughter them, even the children."

She sounded choked with emotion.

"I am your King. Speak to me like that again and I will make certain that you regret it," he said coldly and walked off. 

"You know, the more brutal you are, the more enemies you'll create!" she called after him.

He paused and turned back to her, stunned. Morgana had just said that to him. Was it a veiled threat or just a coincidence?

He turned and left.  
\------------------------------------------------------------  
The next day afternoon, Amethyst was going over some things when she heard a knock at her door.

"Come in."

Gaius entered, looking grim and possibly embarrassed.

"It is not in my nature to do this but I'm afraid my apprentice has gotten himself in a scuffle with Arthur. I'd like your permission to release him," the old physician pleaded.

"Fighting the prince outside of the Knight's code is basically treason, Gaius," she said, looking at her papers.

"I know but Merlin is just a boy and he didn't know Arthur was the prince, he's new to Camelot. He's never been outside his village his entire life."

She looked up, "Merlin? Is that his name?"

The old man nodded.

"Fine, I'll release him but on one condition..."

She was beside herself with laughter about half an hour later when the people were tossing tomatoes at Merlin in the stocks.

Below, in the courtyard, Gwenevere had just introduced herself to Merlin.

"... I get into one squabble with him and I get rotting fruit thrown at me," Merlin stated and Gwen smiled in amusement.

"You should thank Amy that you even got out of the cells in the first place," Gwen returned.

"Who?"

"Amethyst, but her friends call her Amy. She's the captain of the guard and one of the King's wards," Gwen answered.

"She?!" Merlin asked again, looking even more surprised than before.

Gwen smiled, "yes, she. I'm not surprised you haven't seen her. She's always within the castle and she trains before dawn. But if you were at the execution ceremony yesterday, you would've seen her."

"Oh. The strict lady standing beside the King wearing military gear?" Merlin inquired.

Gwen burst into laughter again, "yes. But she's actually really nice. She's just, like you said, strict."

The people started coming back to throw stuff at him again.

"Sorry Gwen, my fans are waiting," Merlin stated with a smile on his face and the people began pelting him with fruit as soon as Gwen backed away.

Later, when Arthur had dragged a grumbling, pissed off Amethyst along with him into town to do some patrols, they ran into Merlin again.

Amethyst was stunned to see him up close. He wasn't anything special. He wasn't buff or muscular.

He looked rather... Ordinary.

This was the dude who fought the prince and could hold his own till the guards interfered?

She glanced at Arthur in disbelief. 

He must be getting lazy.

She smirked at his return remarks to Arthur. He might look ordinary but he had this aura of power around him.

She grinned as she watched them scuffle around the market.

Eventually she had to stop it because Uther would have her head if anything happened to Arthur on her watch so she sent the guards to stop the fight.

They picked Merlin up but Arthur asked them to release him.

She smiled as she headed back to the castle to prepare for Lady Helen's arrival.

As she walked away, she felt a pair of eyes on her. She paused and turned around. Merlin looked away.  
\------------------------------------------------------------  
Amethyst was in her room the next evening with Morgana, Gwenevere and her personal maid, Katherine when there was a knock on the door.

"What is it now?" Amethyst grumbled.

Morgana smirked, "you're the captain of the guard. You should expect anything."

Amethyst rolled her eyes as Katherine went to answer the door. The other three grinned in amusement.

"The King said to deliver this to the Lady Amethyst," the king's personal servant said and handed Katherine a box. She thanked him and entered.

"I hope it's not what I think it is," Amethyst stated.

"She hasn't even opened the box yet," Gwen burst into laughter.

Katherine opened the box and brought out the red dress from inside.

"No," she groaned and lay on her bed dramatically.

"What are you talking about? It's beautiful," Morgana stated, in awe.

"It's an amazing dress and it's one of your favorite colors," Katherine stated.

"Why can't I just wear my regular long sleeves, short skirts, leather leggings and boots?" she complained.

"Not this again," the other three chorused.

She squinted in irritation.

"You wear those all the time, one night won't kill you. Plus you keep your killer body hidden all the time. Allow the men of the court to revel in the beauty that is the captain of the guard," Morgana said.

Amethyst snatched the dress from Katherine as Morgana and Gwen exited the room.

After dressing up, she looked in the mirror.

It was indeed a beautiful dress.

It was an off the shoulder long sleeved cotton dress that went down to her ankles. It was fitting yet simple and comfortable.

It seemed a bit risqué for her as it showed off a bit of her boobs and her figure was on display. She didn't like the attention this dress would bring. She also didn't think Uther had picked it himself.

Her thick, wavy hair that was usually always in an updo was down and almost covered her right eye. She almost couldn't recognize herself.

"What's wrong? You don't like it?" Katherine spoke up, startling her out of her thoughts.

"I can't fight in this," was all she said before she reverted back to silence.

Her room was on the way to the banquet hall so Morgana stopped by so they could go together.

"We're about to cause a freaking scandal," Morgana said to Amethyst as they smiled at the guards and servants who stared at them, mouth agape.

The banquet hall would be full so all eyes would be on them.

And they were right.

The entire hall gasped collectively as they entered. Arthur did a real life spit take and the ladies had to try hard not to laugh.

They could see princes of nearby kingdoms basically transfixed on them.

"Amy, you're wearing a dress?" Alice, the daughter of one of the Lords said in surprise.

"Don't get used to it," she deadpanned before she, Morgana and Alice smiled collectively.

"I'll try," Alice quipped.

"Let's mingle with the cute men around," Morgana stated, entering her flirty mode.

"I'd rather not," Amethyst said, rolling her eyes.

"Suit yourself," Morgana and Alice chorused.

"Wait, don't leave me... And they're gone," Amethyst sighed as she watched them disappear into the crowd.

"Fuck," she cursed silently.

"My lady?" 

'Shit.'

She turned around and plastered a smile on her face. It was Christopher, the Duke of Canterbury's son.

He was nice but she wasn't interested in "mingling" tonight.

Then again was she ever interested in "mingling"?

"Can I have this dance?" he asked.

She looked around, people were dancing.

"Sorry, I'm not in the mood for dancing right now. I'm sure Lady Agnes," she gestured to the said Lady at the other side of the room who was stylishly staring at Christopher, "would love to take you up on that offer."

She curtseyed and walked over to her place at the table beside Uther.

"You wore the dress? You look stunning dear," Uther said and gave her a hug and left the table.

When he released her, she was met with Arthur's shocked and leery? Eyes.

"Um, hello. Earth to Prince Arthur?"

"You look drop dead gorgeous," he blurted.

She felt the shock transfer to her.

"I know you don't like the words 'sexy' and 'hot' so I didn't use it. I knew it would look fantastic on you," Arthur said.

"Wait, you got me the dress?"

"Yes. But I knew you wouldn't wear it if I gave it to you myself. So I asked father to give to you through his personal servant so you'd think it was from him."

She embraced him, "thank you."

"You like it?" he asked after pulling away from her.

"It's comfortable. The only problem is I can't fight with it," she said and he laughed heartily.

"Are they a couple?" Merlin, whose eyes were fixed on her, asked Gwen and Kat.

"No, they're just very good friends. Basically family," Gwen answered.

Kat smiled, "why are you asking...."

"She's beautiful," Merlin cut in.

"She is. But not as beautiful as Morgana," Gwen said.

Kat rolled her eyes, "Morgana doesn't even come close."

Merlin simply smiled in amusement as he listened to Gwen and Kat argue light heartedly about which of their mistresses was more beautiful. 

Merlin watched her exit through a secondary door in the hall. He hoped she'd be back soon. There was something about her that lit up the room.

'Merlin, you shouldn't be thinking about her like that!' he mentally yelled at himself and brought himself back to the bickering near him.

"Ladies, ladies, please. Let's just say they're both equally beautiful. Is that ok?" he said, a smile on his face. They shrugged and turned their attention to Uther who just announced Lady Helen to sing.

Merlin tried to listen to her voice but he kept being distracted and kept calling himself a pervert.

When he realized what was happening, everyone around him was falling asleep and cobwebs were starting to form on them.

The song! It was a magic spell!

He quickly covered his ears and tried to look around for something to stop her.

Crystal, on the other hand, had just re-entered and was startled at the scene before her. She reached out her hand but the chandelier collapsed on Lady Helen anyway.

It wasn't her. She was looked around and she saw Merlin was the only one standing as the others slowly woke up.

The enchantment broke and she recognized the woman from the execution ground. Merlin and Amethyst shared a brief glance as the woman threw her dagger at Arthur.

Amethyst used all her energy to slow the dagger as Merlin ran over to push Arthur out of the way. She was straining and lost it just in time for the prince to be pushed out of the way.

The dagger landed dead center of the chair.

"You saved my son, you must be repaid..." Uther spluttered

"There's absolutely no need, sire," Merlin said.

"Don't be too modest. You shall be Prince Arthur's man servant," Uther decreed.

"Father!"


	2. The snake shield

"The tournament is coming up. You don't seem excited," Kathy said to Amethyst as they walked side by side. They were on their way to the throne room.

"There are going to be so many strangers in the castle. Strangers I'll be in charge of protecting, strangers that Uther would have my head if anything happens to them so I had to brief the guards and set them on every hallway and shit. I'm exhausted and most of the guests haven't even arrived yet," Amethyst ranted then all but growled at a guard who interrupted them stating that Uther had requested her presence.

"Where the fuck do you think we're going?" she hissed and the guard ran off.

"You don't have to so mean to Anthony. He's just doing his job," Kathy said.

"Well, so am I," Amethyst deadpanned.

As soon as they both arrived at the throne room, Uther terminated his meeting with the council men and they exited.

Crystal snapped herself out of surprise, "there was absolutely no reason to disperse the council men. I've done what you asked. I put up extra security in the castle and..."

"I know, that's not what we're here to talk about. Katherine, you'll do well to wait for her outside," Uther cut in and the maid servant looked at her mistress who nodded.

Kathy swifty exited the room.

"I'm getting a scolding, aren't I?" Amy asked immediately after Kathy closed the door behind her.

"Depends. Do you want one?" Uther asked and she looked up at him to see the teasing smirk on his face.

She raised an eyebrow, "what did you call me for, your Majesty?"

"This tournament is going to draw in several eligible bachelors from different kingdoms..."

"Who might be dead at the end of a match."

"... Do well to pick one that fits your fancy. Like Knight Valiant for example, he fights brutally like you and he holds women in high regard. You like men who respect women."

Uther had just continued on as if he had not noticed her disinterested interruption.

Then again it wasn't the first time he was doing that, nor would it be the last.

"Knight Valiant? You mean the same Knight I beat in the lancing tournament for your birthday last year? He likes Morgana and no, he doesn't respect women. So if you're looking for someone who's willing to date and marry a noble, you should be talking to Morgana, not me."

"What about Knight Adam of the American kingdom? He's coming here. You both were childhood friends and he'll be here for a while, even after the tournament, he plans to stay and become a Knight of Camelot. Just like Knight Maaz of the middle East." 

She beat her lip in frustration and tried to remain blank.

"Amy!" she heard from behind her.

"Adam, hi," she offered him a smile.

"Well. I feel so special right now. You never smile at anyone," he said then greeted Uther.

"Welcome to Camelot, Adam. Did Prince James and Princess Jaiden come with you?" Uther asked.

Adam grinned, "the troublesome siblings? James is here but Jaiden didn't want to be in the same ship with her brother so she decided not to come at all."

"Off course. Have the servants shown you to your room yet?" Uther asked.

Adam nodded, "do you mind if I steal Amy away? We have some catching up to do."

Amethyst grimaced, made eye contact with Uther and shook her head furiously. She'd rather lock herself in her room and do nothing for the next couple of hours.

"Off course," Uther agreed with a smirk and she looked at him in horror for a few seconds before Adam took her by the hand and took her out of the room.

He let go off her when they exited the throne room.

"Bye," she said and dashed off. Kathy apologized to a shocked Adam and followed Amethyst.

When Amy entered into her room and shut the door, she heaved a sigh of relief and crashed on the bed.

Kathy came in moments later, "what was that?!"

"I'm sorry. That was my impression of getting away from a chatter box. I don't need the company of an extrovert right now," Amy replied.

Kathy just shook her head and went about her duties.

Amy didn't even realize when she fell asleep but when she opened her eyes, it was dark outside.

"What on Earth?"

She hated day time sleep but she apparently had been tired from staying up the previous night to guard the city gates as punishment. So she'd just passed out.

She sat up, cursing furiously.

What was she going to do now?

Kathy came in then with a platter of food.

"Kathy, I love you," she said heaving a sigh of relief and smiling brightly.

Kathy chuckled, "I was going to come and wake you. The cook is in a mood today."

"When is she ever not in that mood?" Amethyst laughed.

"Maaz, James and Adam have been asking about you all freaking day," Kathy groaned.

"Hope you told them I was comatose?" she said and put a piece of potato in her mouth.

Kathy rolled her eyes, "I did. Would it have killed you to hang at with them? You four were good friends."

Amethyst swallowed a mouthful, "yes it would've. Two, we WERE. When we were kids. That was a long time ago."

"Can't you just cultivate a friendship with them again?"

Amethyst tried to laugh with a mouthful and ended up choking instead. She coughed, reached for the water and gulped it down.

"You're actively trying to kill me, Kathy," she said when she calmed down.

"We've known each other for years. We grew up together. You're basically all I have left of the Crystal kingdom. I'm not the same person I was when we lost everything and I'll never be that person again. You know I don't like socializing with people besides you, Morgana, Arthur and Gwen unless I absolutely have to. I have a job to do and don't have time for all that extra stuff. If you're really my friend, you should already know all that shit and not ask me questions you already know the answer to," Amethyst said all at once.  
\------------------------------------------------------------  
The next day, she stood by Arthur as Merlin fitted him for the tournament.

"Shouldn't you be by father already?" Arthur asked her.

"I wanted to make sure Merlin does his job properly," she said and saw Merlin glance to her and back at what he was doing.

Arthur chuckled, "or you don't want him to tell you about which one of the knights he wants to marry you off to?"

She grimaced, "you know when I tell him I'm not interested, he fucking keeps talking as if I didn't speak. Your dad sees what he wants to see and hears what he wants to hear. Quite shitty behavior if you ask me."

Merlin stiffened as Arthur laughed.

His mother used to tell him that ladies never swore. Here was this one, of noble blood swearing in front of him and Arthur was laughing as if it was normal.

"Done," Merlin said standing upright with a small smile. Amethyst scrunched up her face and Arthur looked at him in disbelief.

"Are you sure you're not forgetting something?" Arthur asked.

Merlin looked around and shook his head, "no, what?"

"Well, I don't know. His sword!" Amethyst snapped at him.

"Oh," Merlin said and handed Arthur his sword, looking flushed.

"Idiot," Arthur muttered as he headed out. Amethyst followed suit.

Merlin couldn't understand her. She knew he had magic and he knew she did as well. She didn't understand how she'd been in such a position as she was with her powers.

Unless she was keeping it secret.

And she recognized him as someone like her that's why he hadn't made that one way Trip to the chopping block yet.

At the same time, she still treated him in that degrading master-servant way.

He shook his head and walked to the tournament grounds.

"I thought you were competing?" Uther asked Amethyst as she stood by him.

Amethyst gasped and placed her hand on her chest in mock surprise, "and take the spotlight from my prince? I'd never."

Uther laughed heartily.

Amethyst smirked, "you know the only times he even beat me were in the mace contests held in Canterbury. I still can't use the bloody things properly."

Uther smiled at her then turned to the people to give his opening speech. They both sat down as the first fight began.

After the day's fights with Arthur, Valiant, Maaz, Adam and James making up the top five, Uther officially introduced Valiant to Morgana and the two of them immediately start flirting with one another.

Amethyst rolled her eyes but paled instantly as Uther reintroduced her to the other three, whom she had been avoiding ever since.

"The winner and first runner up will get the honor of escorting the Lady Morgana and Lady Amethyst to the ball after the tournament," Uther proclaimed and could immediately feel the death glare from Amethyst.

When Uther left and she quickly tried to follow him, Maaz and Adam held her back. She grimaced

"Not so fast," James said.

"You're not running away again," Adam added.

Maaz laughed, "I can't believe you literally ran away from Adam. What the heck, Amy?"

Amethyst put on a stone expression, hoping it would scare them away like it did the guards.

"Unhand me immediately," she said coldly.

Instead of scurrying off in fear, they burst into laughter. Causing Amethyst to grimace again.

"You should know that won't work on us, Amy. We know you," Adam stated.

She sighed, "what do you three want?"

"Um to hang out with our friend, duh," James replied.

"Look, Amy. We know what you've been doing. Everytime we come over, it's Amy led the guards to this, Amy is on a diplomacy mission to somewhere, Amy decided to go camping alone somewhere. We know what happened was devastating to you but we're friends. Stop shutting us out. You never reply any of our letters," Maaz stated, seriously now.

"Well, you won't have to bother about letters anymore because we're staying to become Knights of Camelot," Adam announced, "Well, I told Uther when I arrived. He had a sword and made me Knight of Camelot on the spot."

"Yeah but I'm waiting till after the tournament to tell him," Maaz added.

Amethyst was stunned, "James, aren't you already a prince?"

"I have an older brother, you know," James replied with a smile, "I haven't decided on the Knight thing but I'm staying here for a while. Sometime away from Jaiden would be good for me."

The boys laughed and Amethyst smiled in amusement.

"Gwen, hello," James called the maid trying to pass by them surreptitiously.

"Hi," she greeted.

"We haven't seen you since we got here. Are you trying to pull an Amethyst on us?" James asked and the group laughed.

"Morgana will be busy for a long time," Maaz said with a smirk, "why don't you go Kathy and some food and all five of us can have a nice dinner?"

"Jeez. Finally! I thought you guys were never going to mention food," Adam stated.

"And a trip to Gaius," James added, grabbing his arm.

"How about this? All four of you go to Adam's room then Kathy and I will bring dinner and all six of us can have dinner together there," Gwen said.

The next evening after the tournament, Amethyst was startled out of her half sleep/half awake state by someone loudly pounding on her door.

"Who the fuck is that?!" she yelled.

She stood up and unlocked the door, ready to give the person a sound cursing out and maybe a punch.

It was Merlin.

"Merlin are you stupid...?"

"I just found out Valiant is using magic. The snakes on his shield came to life, I think he might use to kill Arthur," Merlin interrupted her.

"How are you sure about this? You can't make an accusation on a Knight like that with no proof," Amethyst stated.

He brought out a snake head out of the bag in his hand, "this is one of the heads of the snakes. Knight Ewan had snake bites to his neck, he's waking up soon so he might be able to back me up."

"We have to go tell Arthur."

Arthur and Amethyst were in the throne room fifteen minutes later explaining to Uther their findings, showing him the snake head. Just as they mentioned the Knight Ewan, Merlin whispered to them that the Knight had just died.

The expressions on Arthur and Amethyst faces changed instantly.

Arthur looked pale and embarrassed, Amethyst face was full of pure fury as she glared from Merlin to Valiant.

Arthur announced to Uther who immediately scolded the both of them.

"Restrain Merlin," Uther ordered.

"No my Lord, let Merlin go. He was obviously just doing what his master told him. If Arthur doesn't want to fight me, perhaps he should withdraw," Valiant said.

"Do you wish to withdraw, Arthur?" Uther asked.

"No," Arthur answered, his face red from embarrassment.

"Then get out of my sight, both of you," Uther ordered calmly but coldly.

Amethyst stomped out and slammed the door after her. Arthur followed suit.

Merlin followed them, scared.

When he entered Arthur's room, he found himself dangling some inches above the ground with a fuming, seething Amethyst holding him up.

"Do you think this is funny?!" She put him down and shook him furiously, repeatedly slamming his back against the door.

"If you knew he was going to die, why the fuck did you tell me he was recovering and he could speak?!"

"He... He was recovering... I don't know what happened. I..."

"Shut the fuck up!"

"Leave him alone, Amy. I'll handle him," Arthur said calmly.

She knew the calmness was fake as she let go of Merlin and left the room.

"What stunt did you pull out there?" Arthur asked.

"It wasn't a stunt. I saw Knight Valiant using magic. I saw the snakes on his shield come alive. I stand by my statement and I think you should withdraw," Merlin said boldly, startling Arthur which infuriated the young prince all the more.

"I need a servant I can trust..."

"You can trust me..."

"The hell that got me, get out of my sight!" Arthur snapped.

Merlin exited the room.  
\---------------------------------------------------------  
The day for finals finally came.

Amethyst felt conflicted because she'd always been suspicious of Valiant but she thought it was just her not vibing with most guys as normal.

Merlin had no reason to lie and he was quite brave if she admitted it to herself.

It was quite weird that the recovering Ewan suddenly died. Gaius said he had been by a snake again. That can't be a coincidence.

Was Valiant really stupid enough to plan to kill Arthur to win the gold?

He wouldn't make it out of Camelot alive if he did. Knight rules be damned.

She'd slit his throat herself.

The final match soon begun and Amethyst watched intently with trepidation.

In the final minutes of the match, something happened and the snakes came out of the shield on their own.

The crowd held a collective gasp.

"He's using sorcery!" Uther finally spoke up.

Morgana tossed Arthur a sword which he used to kill the snakes and Valiant.

Everyone cheered for him.

"Who would've thought Knight Valiant was using magic?" Uther asked rhetorically to Arthur and Amethyst. Merlin was standing by after receiving an apology from Arthur and getting rehired.

"I'm sorry I doubted the both of you. You're the only ones I should trust and I apologise. Enjoy your evening," Uther left them standing mouth agape.

"Uhhhh, did that just happen?" Amethyst asked.

"I can't believe my ears," Arthur said.

"Arthur. I'm glad you're okay. Thank heavens I reached that sword and helped you, huh?" Morgana said, smiling brightly.

"I'm sorry, what?" Arthur inquired.

Morgana's smile faded a little, "I saved your life."

"No, you didn't. I had it under control," Arthur said.

Morgana frowned coldly, "you don't want to admit you were saved by a woman."

"I wasn't," Arthur stated, blankly.

"You know what? I wish it was Valiant escorting me," she dropped and walked off.

"Morgana," Amethyst said, glaring at Arthur before following after Morgana.

"Can you believe she thinks she saved me?" Arthur asked Merlin.

"Absolutely not, you were in no need of saving," Merlin deadpanned.


	3. The Afanc

From the darkness of a cave in the Isle of the blessed, Nimueh was casting a creation spell on an egg-like thing with her insignia on it.

"Diegol cnytte, gewitte me yst, aliese hine, to Camelot he cymþ."

The egg surfaced in Camelot.

Amethyst woke up with a start. Her body kept telling her something was up, something was wrong. 

She wore a hooded cloak over her sleeping wear and headed out. 

It was pitch black outside and the torches seemed to not be able to penetrate the darkness.

But in the middle of the square, she saw a figure there.

"You felt it too, didn't you?" It was Merlin, his voice piercing through the night, even though it was barely above a whisper.

She sighed, "oh I felt it, Merlin. A lot of the people in Camelot are going to die in the following days."

Merlin gasped and tried to reply but she was gone. Literally vanished into the darkness.

Merlin was even more surprised the next day when he and Gaius found a dead body in the street and Gaius asked him to cover it up with a sheet.

"She said it, she was right," Merlin muttered to himself.

"What?" Gaius asked him. 

"Nothing."

"Let's get this back to my chambers," Gaius said.

Merlin was stopped by Gwen at the gate and she looked curious.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? It looks heavy."

"Yeah, nothing impor... Hmm looks like someone got you flowers."

"Oh no, I got them for the Lady Morgana. Here, have one," she said, handing him a purple flower which he tucked into his shirt.

"Purple suits you... I'm not saying that red doesn't suit you..."

"Oh for goodness sake Gwen, this is where you are? Katie has been looking for you all day," Adam said, interrupting them, "she said both of you have laundry to do... Oh who's your friend?"

"I'm Merlin."

"Oh yeah, Arthur's servant. I heard you whooped his ass and saved his life in the same week. You have to teach me your technique sometime. What do you say we schedule a training session at dawn?" Adam asked, grinning goofily.

"I honestly doubt I'll be able to keep up. Arthur has only beat you by luck," Merlin stated and Gwen left them.

Adam laughed, "you have good eyes. Hey what's that?"

"Merlin I told you to... Oh, Knight Adam. Sorry, Merlin and I are busy today and he has to take this back to my chambers," Gaius said after he rounded the corner.

Adam nodded, "Don't forget my training offer!"

Back at the castle, in the council chambers later that day, Amethyst stood by Uther as he questioned Gaius over the cause of death of a servant.

The corpse of the servant lay was on the floor, pale white even though he hadn't been dead long.

"What's happened to him?" Uther asked.

"I don't know, Sire. It's the second case I've seen today," the physician replied.

"Why didn't you report it to me?" 

"I was attempting to find the cause."

"What did you conclude?"

Gaius looked hesitant, "I don't think it's time to hurry to conclusions. The scientific process is a long one."

"What are you concealing from me?" Uther inquired, his voice firm. He'd put on what Arthur called his 'no nonsense' voice.

"Sire, I have seen nothing like it. The victims are dying in 24 hours, and it's spreading fast."

"What is the cause?"

"I think you should say that the cause, the most likely cause, is sorcery."

"A very powerful one at that," Amethyst added, glancing from the body to Merlin.

Uther pulled Arthur and Amethyst aside, "we must find who did this." 

"We will father," Arthur said.

"Conduct door to door searches. Increase your presence in the town. Double the guards on all the gates. And Arthur, lend the physician your servant."

Arthur grimaced, "Merlin? But..."

Uther cut him off, "We need Gaius to find a cure. He needs all the help we can give him. If Gaius is right, believe me, this city will be wiped out. This is the kind of magic that undermines our authority, challenges all we've done. If we cannot control this plague, people will turn to magic for a cure. We have to find this sorcerer, and quickly."

Arthur nodded stiffly.

Amethyst and Arthur immediately exited the council chambers to organize the guards.

"I don't like door to door searches," James said when he was informed with the other Knights.

"It's our orders and we have to, to protect the people of Camelot," Arthur stated.

"You sound like you memorised that statement, Arthur. And a sorcerer of this caliber won't be within Camelot because that's just stupid," Maaz returned.

"True but we literally have no choice. Uther will have our heads if we don't. If we didn't find anything, we'll say we didn't," Amethyst deadpanned.

"When do we start?"

The next morning, Amethyst swallowed as she looked over the main balcony at the dead bodies covered with white sheets.

James, Adam, Maaz came out to join her with Sultan, Maaz's cousin in tow.

"Powers of prediction couldn't see this huh?" Sultan asked.

Amethyst glared at him and the other three immediately shushed him.

"Sorry, sorry."

"What are we going to do?" Adam asked her. 

She shrugged, "wait for Gaius, I guess. We didn't find anything, Arthur and some of the guards are still out looking though."

"The sorcerer can't be in Camelot, that's for sure," Sultan said.

"It's Nimueh," Amethyst dropped.

"Nimueh? I thought powerful but not that powerful. Are you certain?" James asked.

"I saw her in a dream two nights ago. It can't be a coincidence," Amethyst replied.

"My Lords and Lady," a guard greeted, "Prince Arthur requests your presence in the council chambers."

He left.

"Here we go," Amethyst said.

As soon as they entered the council chambers, Uther began bombarding them with questions.

"Are you sure you searched properly?" Uther asked finally. He sounded frustrated.

"We searched everywhere, the entire city," James replied

"Nothing?"

Amethyst shrugged, "we don't know where else to look." 

Uther paused in thought for a while as they shuffled their feat in wait for their orders.

Amethyst knew it would have to come to some sort of quarantine but she dreaded it anyway.

"I want you to impose a curfew. No one is to be allowed onto the streets after the great bell," Uther said after a while.

"Father?" Arthur queried.

"And cordon off the lower town," the King added.

"Why?"

"Because that's where most of the victims are. Let's isolate it, stop this disease from spreading."

"What about the people who live there?"

Uther looked visibly irritated at the question, "do you think I haven't considered it? What else can I do? We're facing a pandemic, I have to protect the rest of the city."

Arthur made eye contact with Amethyst, expecting her to challenge the order but she just looked at him blankly.

He bowed to his father and exited.

The others followed him.

"Simon, Anthony, both of you should take four others and place the lower town on lockdown. Nobody comes into the streets for forty eight hours. Tell everyone to sort themselves out within the next hour, get their food and supplies for at least a week," Amethyst addressed.

"A week?" Anthony asked.

Amethyst frowned, "yes, a week."

Anthony didn't ask any further questions, he just did as he was told.

"Where are you going to now?" Maaz asked as she turned to go.

"I'm going to Gaius to find out any new information," she replied.

"I'll come with you," Maaz said.

"And i'll go to the lower town to make sure all is in order," Sultan and James said simultaneously. Maaz and Adam smirked at that whilst the other three rolled their eyes  
\------------------------------------------------------  
Amethyst saw Gwen run past her looking distraught. 

"Gwen!" Adam and Amethyst called and ran after her.

They arrived at Gaius chambers the same time as she did.

"What, what's wrong? You have the sickness?"

"No, it's my father. You have to help him!"

"Gwen, I'm sorry I have no cure."

Gwen gasped in heartbroken disappointment and dashed off, Adam went after her.

"I can cure Gwen's father," Merlin stated.

"Don't be stupid, Merlin. We're out here looking for a sorcerer, don't think Uther will say 'oh this was healing magic' and the other created a fucking pandemic. They're all the same in his eyes. I'm warning you again, don't be stupid," Amethyst said firmly.

"She's right, Merlin," Gaius added.

Merlin just nodded and said nothing.

Amethyst was in the council chambers the next day when Gwen was dragged in, Arthur leading the party.

"Arthur, what's the meaning of this?" she asked. He hadn't told her anything about a warrant for Gwen's arrest and here he was making an arrest without asking her first.

An arrest of Gwen for that matter.

"Please listen to me I have done nothing, please! I swear I haven't done anything!" Gwen was crying as the guards dropped her on the floor.

"Well done," Uther said

"Attention to protocol much, Arthur?" Amethyst asked sarcastically.

"This is not an issue of protocol, Amethyst. We have evidence that Gwen has been using sorcery," Uther stated.

"What?!"

"Why will no one believe me?! He got better, he just recovered. I didn't do anything!" Gwen sobbed.

Morgana entered just then, "I believe you. Perhaps this is a disease that is not always fatal. Have you thought of that? Perhaps he recovered naturally."

Uther was unfazed, "and what of this poultice that was found?"

Gwen's distress mixed with surprise, "what poultice? I don't know anything about a poultice!"

"It was found in your house. Undo this enchantment. Put an end to this contagion."

"I can't! It's not me!"

"I will show you no mercy."

"I am not a witch. I don't know how to stop the illness!"

"If you will not undo your sorcery, you force my hand and I must find you guilty..."

"But I told you, I..."

"It is therefore my duty to pronounce judgment. And under the circumstance I have no choice but to sentence you to..."

"No," Amethyst cut into Uther's pronouncement.

"What?" Uther asked, looking furious.

Amethyst stood by Gwen and Morgana.

"If Gwen said she didn't, then she didn't. If you kill her now and the sickness doesn't stop, you would've murdered an innocent person and I don't think you want that on your conscience," she paused to let it sink in, "your majesty."

Uther was silent for a while.

"That's a chance I'm willing to take to save my people," he said blankly to her, eliciting a shocked expression from his captain of the guard.

"So I sentence you to death, Gwen and I can only hope that when you die, this evil plague dies with you."

Gwenivere was equally startled, "No! No!" 

"Take her away," Uther ordered and the guards took her.

Morgana was distraught, "I know Gwen, she's my maidservant, not an enchantress."

Uther's face was blank, "Have you ever seen an enchantress? Believe me, they bear no sign, no mark. There is no sense of evil in the eye."

Amethyst rolled her eyes.

Morgana switched tactics and tried to plead, "I've seen the way the girl works. Her fingers are worn, her nails are broken. If she was a sorceress, why would she do this? Why would she kneel on a cold stone floor morning after morning when she could make these things happen with a snap of her fingers?" Uther looked uninterested and this infuriated Morgana, "like an idle king!" 

"You have no right!"

"You have no right to cast a judgement on that girl!"

"I have a responsibility to take care of this kingdom! I take no pleasure in this!"

"But you're sentencing the wrong person!"

"She's right, Father. You hear the word magic, you no longer listen," Arthur finally spoke up.

"You saw it for yourself. She used enchantments," Uther stated.

"You are passing judgement based off one single poultice! Somebody else could've put it there," Amethyst said."

Uther was fuming.

Arthur sighed, "but to save her dying father, that doesn't make her guilty of creating a plague. One's the act of, of kindness, of love, the other of evil. I don't believe evil's in this girl's heart."

"I have witnessed what witchcraft can do. I have suffered at its hand. I cannot take that chance. If there is the slightest doubt about this girl, she must die or the whole kingdom may perish," Uther stated and Amethyst had to stop herself from banging her head against the wall.

"I understand that," Arthur mumbled.

"One day you may become King. Then you will understand. Such decisions must be made. There are dark forces that threaten this kingdom," Uther stated.

"I know. Witchcraft is an evil, father. So is injustice. Yes, I am yet to be King, and I don't know what kind of king I will be, but I do have a sense of the kind of Camelot I would wish to live in. It would be where the punishment fits the crime," Arthur said, frustrated.

"I fear you're right. She's played with fire, and sadly she must die by fire," Uther pronounced.

Amethyst face palmed so hard just as Morgana exited the chambers.

"Merlin are you wicked or stupid or are you both?" Amethyst said when she was in Gaius chambers with the both of them later.

"I just wanted to help," Merlin defended.

"Oh you helped alright, you idiot. Poor Gwenevere. She's hurt enough, then she got the respite of happiness and now it is gone. If Katie and Gaius didn't beg me, I'll have turned you in instead," she stated and Merlin paled in fright.

"Why are you so impatient? Why couldn't you just let Gaius work?" she asked, her voice breaking.

For the first time, Merlin saw through her cold, stand-offish personality. She was very kind at heart and she cared about her friends.

He loathed himself even more now.

She left soon afterwards.  
__________  
"What if burning this witch doesn't stop the poison? How do I protect my people? My men have closed down the water pumps," Uther asked his council, worry lines had etched into his forehead.

"But the emergency supply won't last for much longer. We have to find a way of cleansing the water of the disease," Gaius informed

"But how?" Uther asked

Gaius sighed, "Well..."

Even Amethyst was startled when the doors open and Merlin burst in.

"It was me! It was me who used magic to cure Gwen's father!" Merlin exclaimed.

The Council members stared at him.

'Had something come loose in his head?' Amy thought.

"Gwen is not the sorcerer. I am!" he said again

Gaius stood up, "Merlin! Have you gone mad?"

Merlin looked at his guardian, "I cannot let her die for me," he turned to Uther, "place myself at your mercy." 

"I'm pretty sure he doesn't know what he's talking about," Amethyst stated.

"I do," Merlin said firmly

Amy grimaced and looked over at Arthur.

"Then arrest him," Uther ordered.

"Father, please! I can't allow this! This is madness! There's no way Merlin is a sorcerer," Arthur finally recovered from his shock.

"Did you not hear him?"

"Yes." 

"He admitted it."

"He saved my life, remember."

Uther looked irritated at the scene before him, "why should he fabricate such a story?" 

Arthur looked at Amethyst for help.

Amy stuttered a little, "A-as Gaius said, he's got a... Got a grave mental disease."

Arthur nodded and his eyes lit up.

Uther looked a Merlin, then back to Amethyst, "Really?"

"He's in love," Arthur blurted out.

Merlin looked stunned, "What?" 

"...With Gwen," Amethyst supplied and gave Merlin a death glare silently begging him to shut up.

Uther grinned in amusement.

Merlin and Arthur begun to bicker about it as Amethyst heaved a sigh of relief.

"Perhaps she cast a spell on you," Uther said blankly.

Arthur and Amethyst looked at him worriedly. Uther snickered and the council members snickered as well.

Arthur smiled in relief, "Merlin is a wonder, but the wonder is that he's such an idiot. There's no way he's a sorcerer."

"Don't waste my time again. Let him go," Uther said and waved him away.  
\------------------------------------------------------  
Arthur was in his room a few days later when Morgana entered.

"You alright? Sorry about all this. Merlin's not been in today," he stated.

"Poor Merlin."

"Yeah."

"To offer to give up his life to save Gwen's. I certainly can't imagine any man loving me so much."

"No, I certainly can't imagine that either."

Morgana smirked, "That's because you're not like Merlin. He's a lover."

Arthur squinted at her wondering where she was going with this, "Yeah, maybe that's because I haven't found the right person to love."

"Sadly the age of gallantry seems to be dead. You look around and all you see are small men, not big enough to fill their armour. There's not one of them that's able to stand up for what is right."

Arthur shook his head and smirked at Morgana's obvious manipulative insult, "What do you want me to do?"

As Merlin explained what was happening to the people, Amethyst and Morgana stood by, listening.

They entered the water caverns and Arthur begun asking Morgana to turn back, she ignored him as usual.

Amethyst had her sword drawn as well.

"You better be right about this, Merlin," Arthur stated.

As if on cue, they heard a low growl. They turned around with their torches but saw nothing.

They soon approached the water source. They split up to search for it.

They came together in panic a few seconds later.

"Did you see it? What did it look like?" Amethyst asked Arthur.

"It-It's quick," the prince replied.

"I asked for a description Arthur, not speed," Amethyst deadpanned.

Arthur was about to roll his eyes when Morgana screamed in terror and dropped her torch.

The Afanc was real alright and in full view.

It looked like the hybrid of a giant dog and a human made of mud without a face, only a mouth which was growling at them.

Arthur recovered first and attacked the thing but his sword dropped on the ground some feet from where he stood. 

He held the torch in the Afanc's face and the fire seemed to scare it.

"Arthur use the torch!" Merlin yelled and Arthur held out the torch.

"Lume e vento, inimigo da Terra e da auga. Fai o teu traballo e destrúe este monstro."

"Lyfte ic þe in balwen ac forhienan."

Merlin and Amethyst spelt simultaneously.

They felt the heavy wind which blew the fire unto the monster, destroying it.

Nimueh, at her cave, was livid.

"Merlin, Amethyst! You'll pay for this!"


	4. They are not all dead

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to Felipedante146 for honestly motivating me to write more 💜

Anthony yawned and scratched his neck. It was about 2am, his shift would end at 5am but he was already fading fast at his post.

Sultan had promised to join him and probably take his spot but all the knights were called together to prepare for the tournament in honor of Uther's birthday.

The cool breeze was lulling him to sleep.

He must've fallen asleep but he was startled awake by a movement.

"Who goes there?" he asked.

"I'm here for the tournament," the unknown figure replied.

"In the dead of the night? Come back at dawn," Anthony replied, furious at the stranger's ridiculousness.

"Please, I've come a long way. Let me into the city," the stranger pleaded.

"No. I'm afraid I can't do that," Anthony said, getting riled up.

"Would you at least let me..." 

Anthony cut the stranger off by drawing his sword and attacking him. 

The stranger was stunned by the cut on his arm but only temporarily.

He quickly started combating Anthony with his spear. Dodging and heaving and leaving cuts on the guard's body.

The stranger finally had enough.

"Golpéao," he spelt and drove his glowing spear into the guard's chest.

Anthony dropped dead.

The stranger chuckled, "came all this way and barely made it into Camelot before killing a man. A guard too. Way to make an entrance."

He winced at his bleeding arm but swallowed his pain as he proceeded to hide the body.

"I hope he's not that important."  
_________  
"Amy! Amy! Wake up!"

"Wha-What? Huh?" 

Amethyst was startled. It was bright outside.

Odd, she usually woke up very early to train, take a bath and have breakfast but here she was. The sun was up and had just woken up.

"He's dead, Amy. He's dead!"

Amethyst looked at her handmaiden who was choking on tears in front of her.

"Who's dead?"

"Anthony. Sultan found his body this morning. He was brutally murdered," Katie replied, still crying.

"What?!" Amethyst stood up, fully alert now. 

"Please get my bath water ready. I promise you, I'll find out what happened," Amethyst promised.

Katie nodded, wiped her eyes and did as she was told.

Anthony... Dead?

Honestly, Amethyst didn't like him but she definitely didn't want him to die.

He was the son of a brutal warlord. Uther hadn't deemed him good enough to join the knights and made him a guard instead.

He had been a guard even before Uther made her the captain. Needless to say, he hadn't been fond of a young woman being put as his head.

But she had proven herself as competent and he just had a begrudging respect for her.

She had a tournament to prepare for the next day. How was she going to handle investigation and the tournament simultaneously?

Multitasking had never been her strong suit.

After she had dressed, she went to the council chamber.

"I was beginning to consider sending Gaius," was the first thing Uther said to her when she entered the full council chambers.

Everyone was staring at her.

A few guards and a fraction of the knights.

"How do we hope to explain to lord Timothy that his only son was killed within Camelot? Who was supposed to be with him?" Uther asked her.

"It was me," Sultan answered from the far right end of the room, his voice just loud enough to be noticed. He was still feeling guilty.

Uther gave Amethyst a look she knew meant, 'handle this.'

She straightened up and assumed her signature blank slate but intimidating posture, "Sultan? You care to explain why you didn't join Anthony at the drawbridge gates?"

"I was supposed to join him but the Prince gathered us together till very late at night in the name of preparing us for the tournament and I was very tired..."

"I was at that gathering, Sultan..."

"And you woke up after sunrise."

"Silence, Sultan! You are speaking to my captain of the guard!" Uther interrupted their banter.

"Exhaustion is just a poor excuse and a lie. I saw you and Knight Adam chug a few drinks last night," Leon stated.

"I didn't ask you to speak, Leon and I can remember you chugged a few drinks as well," Amethyst said, calmly and coldly.

"Sultan, staying up late is no excuse. I assigned you to join him for a reason and you directly disobeyed that order. Not only that but you cost Anthony his life. What do you have to say for yourself?" she asked.

That was a cue for him to defend himself then she'd pass order and Uther would either confirm or give his own order. It was usually the latter.

Sultan stepped to middle of the room and stood facing Uther while simultaneously looking at Amethyst.

"I know I was wrong and Anthony's death is my fault," he said solemnly looking down, but then he shook his head.

"And at the same time it wasn't," Sultan added, looking straight at Uther.

'What is this idiot doing?' Amethyst thought and she saw Maaz grimace.

"I beg your pardon," Uther stated.

"I know I was supposed to be there and if I was there, he probably wouldn't have died. But I did tell Arthur I had a shift but he encouraged me to stay and have fun. He didn't let me leave even though I insisted so I said well, if the Prince says it's fine then it is," Sultan replied, firmly.

"Yes, Sultan but actions have consequences," Amethyst chimed in Immediately to give Uther less time to stew, "you are to take a small pack of guards with Anthony's sword and armor and break the news to his father."

Sultan looked horrified, "what?"

Even Uther himself secretly feared Lord Timothy. He was tough and ruthless.

"And since we can't trust you to do anything, Sir Leon will go with you."

Sultan grimaced.

Amethyst looked at Uther to get his approval.

"You shall leave at dawn tommorow but you will be publicly flogged in the town square this afternoon," Uther said.

"But, my lord..." Sultan all but whined and whimpered in fear.

"You are lucky I am not executing you. Guards, get him out of my sight," Uther ordered and to the town crier, "announce the ceremony to the town's people." 

Amethyst mouthed a "sorry" to Sultan who was looking at her for help as the guards took him away.

"But we have a problem on our hands still, my lord. We have to find out who murdered Anthony to bring them to justice," Leon said.

"Gaius is already looking into it," Uther said then turned to Amethyst, "you need to take your job seriously. Captain of the guard isn't a ceremonial title. If we didn't have a tournament, I would've charged you to a night shift for the next week."

"If the people I assign actually do their jobs right instead of grumbling about having a young woman as their captain, we wouldn't have this problem. It wasn't Anthony's first time running a shift alone..."

"Show some respect. Lend your services to Gaius to find out what happened. Leave, now!" Uther ordered.

Amethyst stomped out of the room.

What a load of useless people she had to deal with.

Merlin looked symphathetic when she entered Gaius' chambers, "Hey. Sorry about Anthony's death..." 

"I'm not. Good riddance to bad rubbish. He was lazy, incompetent and rude and he always got me into trouble," she said.

Gaius threw her a dirty look which she ignored and sat down.

"What have you found out?" she asked.

"There was definitely a scuffle cause there was some blood on his sword but there are several deep cuts on his body that suggests the use of a spear by whoever attacked him," Gaius said.

Amethyst raised an eyebrow, "a spear? For face to face combat?"

"So it seems... But his skin here to his heart looks like it was burned through, which suggests the use of magic."

"Magic?"

"Apparently so."

"Uther's not going to like this."

"But why would anyone want to kill Anthony?" Merlin inquired.

"I don't think it was Anthony they were after," Amethyst paused, "the tournament. Maybe someone was trying to sneak in."

"Probably? But who has such power of this magnitude?" Gaius wondered.

Amethyst stood up and took a closer look at it, "not as powerful as Nimueh for sure. But definitely someone trained at the heart of the Old Religion. I must tell Uther to cancel the ceremony, the people are not safe."

But off course Uther did not listen to her and rather scolded her for insinuating they cancel the tournament for his name day week.

"There is a sorcerer with dark magic within Camelot, call it off!" she stated.

They were in his room.

"You have no right to make orders. You should do your job and make sure the sorcerer is found. And don't say you were too busy to show up for Sultan's punishment. Unless you want to take his place," he said coldly before leaving.

"Ah!" she screamed in frustration.

She lost control of her powers and when she opened her eyes, the whole room was in disarray. She tried fixing it but she was having a panic attack.

Her hands were shaking.

James, who had just rounded the corridor felt the distress in his mind.

He sensed something was very wrong.

He ran to the king's door and opened it but immediately shut it behind him.

The room was a mess and Amethyst was having a seizure before him.

"Amethyst!" he called and the mini storm in the room stopped. All there was, was a stilled peace as everything returned to normal before he could blink.

All the furniture pieces had returned to their usual state, the curtain was set and the room looked like nothing had happened.

She turned to him and he took a few steps back, she looked pasty like all of the color had been drained out of her.

"Strange weather we're having, eh James? Also you should leave. You don't want to start explaining what you're doing here, do you?" she stated and exited the room.

"I've been looking all over for you..." Maaz paused and looked closely at her, "Uther giving you troubles huh?"

She said nothing, she just stared.

"Can Uther not be swayed to stop the flogging?" he asked.

She laughed mirthlessly, "would you have preferred to be an execution ceremony?"

"No, no. It's just... I know my cousin, he can't handle that..."

"You should be talking to Uther, not me."

They gathered in the town square that afternoon and Sultan was led out. 

Amethyst was struggling not to laugh. Sultan was the proud, "don't give a fuck" type. He was a good Knight for sure but she doubted he ever imagined he would be publicly flogged.

He looked more petrified than the people Uther had ordered to be beheaded.

Then again, who wouldn't? The public flogging was the most demeaning, traumatizing punishment. The person was to be stripped naked and flogged with a whip in front of the Knights, Guards and the people within the city.

"As most of you probably know, Anthony the son of Lord Timothy was murdered here in Camelot last night. Knight Sultan was supposed to join him to guard the main gates but he didn't. I should be executing him but I can't risk war with his uncle and father. So as punishment, he will be flogged. However, his cousin has pleaded on his behalf. Instead of the usual way, only his top half will be exposed and instead of the ceremonial 48 strokes he shall be given 24. Begin!"

Amethyst watched pitifully as Sultan's was stripped from his waist up.

He knew what he was signing up for when he joined the Camelot knights. Uther had every right to do this but wasn't the informing Lord Timothy that his only son was dead bad enough?

She watched the whip curl up in the air and land on his back for the first time with a twack.

He didn't react, he was trying to look strong.

The whipping continued and by the tenth one he was sobbing quietly and by the fifteen one he was crying out with bloodied welts on his back.

He's not going to recover from that.

When the whips stopped, he collapsed and Maaz ran to his cousin. He shook Maaz off and tried to move but he stumbled.

"You stubborn oaf," Maaz scolded softly and helped his cousin inside. Amethyst turned to go inside but Uther grabbed her arm.

"You need to be here as I address the people," he whispered to her, "you can't just leave."

Inside the castle, Maaz was helping a sobbing Sultan to his room. 

"Hey!" someone called from behind. Maaz glanced back but Sultan couldn't care less.

"I saw what happened, I can help," the stranger said.

"We have a physician."

"But he's outside. We need to get him help now."

Sultan and Maaz turned to the stranger who slowly removed his hood so they could see his face.

He was young, about 17 or 18. He was very white, the shade they often teased Amethyst about. He looked very fit and athletic and there was a spear sticking out of somewhere in his cloak.

He was wearing a black plain cotton, buttonless longsleeved top with matching leather trousers. Over the top was a red hooded jacket held together from his neck to the middle of his chest by white braces.

From the middle of his chest to his waist it opened out like a flower. But behind, it reached his shin. He was carrying a black bag with matching boots.

What captivated them the most were his eyes that seemed like they were staring into someone's soul. His eyes seemed like they had so much to tell and knew so much but had a lot of questions still.

"Are you just going to stare at me or are you two handsome gentlemen going to let me help? While your physician is busy... I can treat him," the stranger interrupted their thoughts.

He was smirking.

Maaz sighed, "I don't know..." 

"Let him," Sultan cut in.

The stranger's eyes brightened immediately and even Sultan, who was in a lot of searing pain, smiled as well.

"Lead the way," the stranger said.

"But at least let us know your name first," Maaz requested.

"Kendall," he answered, "I think we should be heading to where I can threat him before it starts to scar. Whip wounds don't just heal."

"Okay let's go," Maaz said and they slowly headed up.

When they arrived in his room, they could hear Uther's voice loud and clear, he was postponing the tournament and birthday feast so they could mourn the death of Anthony instead. His remains would be cremated that afternoon right after his address.

"I told you they were going to be out for a while," Kendall said and he brought his bag down and began to do his work.

Halfway through, he rummaged through the contents of his bag and looked stressed, "do you know where I can get some aloe vera? I'm all out."

Maaz dashed out.

Meanwhile Kendall gave Sultan a mixture to drink.

"What's this?" Sultan asked, peering curiously at it.

"It's a painkiller and it will help it heal. Don't down it all at once, it's very potent."

Maaz returned a few minutes later.

"Here," he said handing it over to Kendall.

Kendall took out a small bottle from his bag and turned to Sultan with trepidation, "this is going to hurt... A lot."

The little color that had returned to Sultan's face vanished, "can't be worse than the whipping, can it?"

Kendall took a clean piece of cloth and doused it with some of the contents of the bottle and placed it on a spot on one of Sultan's several whip marks.

Sultan hissed and jumped up but he immediately regretted it, "what the fuck is that?!"

"Sorry, sorry. I told you it would hurt. But it will help it heal faster," Kendall said.

"Now sit down and let me work," Kendall stated after a while.

Sultan sat slowly as Kendall begun patting his wounds with the cloth and the Knight was struggling not to cry the whole time but he eventually gave in.

Afterwards Kendall took the aloe vera and pressed out the gel. He looked away from them and they didn't see his eyes glow and the aloe vera gel changed from its clear color to green then back to the clear color.

He then applied it onto Sultan's wounds and the Knight moaned drawing chuckles from Maaz and Kendall.

"Why you gotta make it sound sexual?" Maaz asked.

Sultan blushed, "it wasn't intentional plus it felt good."

"Yeah that's me... I don't mean that in a creepy way or anything," Kendall stated.

Maaz smiled at him, "you're quite gifted for your age."

His eyes darkened and Maaz saw some conflict in them and he worried he had crossed a line.

Kendall shook his head slightly, "I had to learn very early. Also what do you mean my age? The both of you can't be that much older than I am."

"Aren't you like 18?" Sultan asked.

"Yes. How'd you guess?" Kendall returned.

Well, we're older than you," Maaz paused then put on a teasing smile, "kid."

Kendall laughed, "good one... And I am done."

He stood up and begun to gather his things.

"I suggest tons of rest, no training for a few days. Stay shirtless for a while and if you have to wear anything make sure it's cotton. I'm going to leave some of the painkiller here so you can take it, just once daily. But apply the aloe twice a day morning and evening..."

"I have to leave for Lord Timothy's town tomorrow," Sultan cut in.

Kendall looked stunned, "but you're injured."

"Uther doesn't care about that," Maaz stated.

"Can you come with me and help me treat it?" Sultan asked.

"I don't know. You'll know my answer if you see me," Kendall replied, kissed Sultan on the cheek and exited the room.

Sultan looked stunned, he looked up at his cousin who was smirking at him.

"What?" Sultan asked

"Nothing, nothing, nothing," Maaz said looking away. 

"I know you, there's something," Sultan returned.

"It's really nothing... Except you're red cause Kendall kissed you," Maaz dropped.

"What, no! Plus he's a kid..." Sultan defended then lay on his stomach.

"No he's not. You're only four years older than he is," Maaz cut in.

Sultan groaned, "besides... I'm straight."

"Uh-huh, uh-huh. Better get ready for your trip with Leon tommorow," Maaz stated.

"Ugh, don't remind me."

"The speech is over, I'll go get Gaius."

Gaius looked stunned when he arrived and looked over the wounds, "whoever did this must be a master. And you said it doesn't hurt?"

"Not as much as you'd expect it to," Sultan said.

"Such healing takes years to learn. Was he an old man?" Gaius asked.

"No. He was young, he said he was eighteen. He gave Sultan a small vial of a painkiller as well," Maaz answered.

"Can I see it?" Gaius requested.

Maaz looked around for a while then picked it off Sultan's wooden bedside table. Gaius took it, he observed the contents then opened it and took a sniff.

He coughed and closed it, "it's very potent."

"So he said, it did kinda weigh me down a little, help me relax," Sultan stated, he looked drowsy.

"I think you should get some rest. You have a long journey ahead of you tommorow," Gaius stated.

Sultan literally passed out.

He woke up the next morning to the sound of banging on his door. "Uh, what?" he muttered and was immediately blinded by the sunlight. He jumped up and hissed as he remembered his whip wounds.

"Sultan I swear to God if I have to kick this fucking door open, I won't even plead you a whipping. I'll just let Uther execute you, if I don't kill you myself that is!"

"Oh God," he let out.

It was Amy. She usually would've just sent someone else but the fact she was actually at his door meant he had overslept and Uther had been on her case all morning about it.

He knew how ruthless she could get when she was angry and frustrated.

"Sultan, I swear to..."

"Coming!"

He unlocked the door and he barely held the handle before she pushed the door open, nearly knocking him to the floor.

"You are not even dressed!"

"Listen Amy..."

"It's nearly noon..."

"Would you please listen to me for one second..."

"Shut up! I don't want to hear any excuses, okay? Leon and the guards have been ready for hours, Uther has literally been on my ass all morning. Don't give me the excuse of your wounds, I once charged into battle with a dislocated leg okay? You can walk, you can move. You should've been off your arse at dawn. Getting to his town is a three day journey. You've lost half a day already. You know what? I'm tired of talking, you have exactly thirty minutes to get dressed and move. I don't give a flying fuck if you don't even bathe," she stomped out.

"Be outside, ready to depart in thirty minutes!" she called from the hallway.

Sultan slammed the door after her. His servant walked in few minutes later with his bath water.

"Took you long enough, why didn't you wake me, Ahmed?" Sultan asked.

"I tried but you sleep like the dead," he returned.

"Very funny... Just get my stuff ready and enough Aloe vera to last a week. I'm going to be needing it," Sultan said.

Sultan was out half an hour later.

Amethyst was standing by his horse.

"Do you know how much time you've wasted? We had to get extra food and supplies," Arthur said to him and Sultan glared at him.

"I seem to remember this being your fault," Sultan muttered.

"Let's not talk about what caused what or who caused what," Arthur said dismissively.

"Shut up, Arthur," Amethyst and Sultan said simultaneously.

Leon and the first of guards and servants rode off first with Anthony's armour and sword. Then Sultan followed, turning back to wave at Amethyst who simply nodded at him.

"Not even a goodluck? Timothy is a dickhead," he muttered as he faced his destination.  
___________________  
It was evening. Sultan was trailing behind Leon and the Knights now.

He had forgotten to use the aloe vera and he couldn't stop to use it now. Leon had insisted they ride till nightfall. Sultan kept muttering curse words and hissing in pain with every motion his horse made.

The horse neighed as if it understood and slowed down even more.

"No, girl keep your normal pace or I'm going to have another dead Knight on my hands. I swear I'll kill this one myself," he said and the horse resumed its pace.

"Who goes there?!" he heard Leon call out ahead of him.

"Please don't be an ambush," he whimpered and crossed his fingers.

"Who are you?" he heard Leon ask again but he could not hear or see the person replying.

He clicked his tongue and his horse galloped a short ways to the group.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave, don't bother us, child," Leon said.

"Hunny I'm not here for you. I would really appreciate it if you stayed out of my way," Kendall returned, glaring daggers at him.

A guard drew his sword but before he could point it at Kendall, the latter knocked it away with his spear.

"You... You... Are speaking... To a Knight of Camelot," the guard stuttered in shock. Leon appeared stunned as well.

"And the Knight of Camelot is speaking to Kendall, not you. Mind your business," Kendall stated.

Leon recovered, "I will not stand for this..."

"Leave him alone, Leon," Sultan interrupted.

Leon watched as the expressive eyes of the teenager in front of him changed from such a threatening storm to a happy, child-like calmness.

"But the child is a nuisance to us. He's a stranger," Leon stated.

Sultan rolled his eyes, "his name is Kendall, he's not a child and he's with me."

"Why?" Leon queried.

"I'll be replacing Gaius for your travels to treat him," Kendall replied.

"Gaius didn't say anything about you and why didn't you join us at Camelot before departing?" Leon asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"For goodness sake, Leon. We still have an hour till it's dark, let's get moving," Sultan said impatiently.

"I have the right to know who's riding with us," Leon returned.

"I seem to remember Amethyst putting me in charge of this trip and not you," Sultan dropped and Leon swallowed his retort.

"Will someone please.... Get him a horse?" Sultan requested.

"There are no spare horses. We didn't plan for stragglers," Leon said, side-eying Sultan.

"I guess we'll have to share a horse then. You don't mind, do you Cora?" he said and his horse neighed in approval.

Kendall walked over and stroked its muzzle, "she's beautiful."

* "Ola Cora, estás ben? Estase a coidar ben de ti, xa vexo? Cres que faría o mesmo por min? Creo que é bonito... Non digas nada," * Kendall whispered and it nudged him playfully, eliciting a blush which he quickly changed to a blank state before anyone noticed.

"Wow I don't remember the last time she was friendly to anyone like that, come on now. We're burning day light," Sultan said.

"But you're still on her," Kendall looking surprised.

"My back hurts I can't get down," Sultan complained and shifted some ways back. Kendall slowly and cautiously got on the horse in front of Sultan.

Leon watched them with a pissed off expression on his face. However, he did not miss the pleased surprise in Kendall's eyes as Sultan adjusted himself.

"Okay, let's go," Sultan ordered.

The others started first then Sultan followed behind.

"Why aren't you keeping pace with them?" Kendall asked.

"Leon is a douche and my back hurts. Are you comfortable?"

"Mmmhmm," Kendall hummed and subtly leaned back unto him.

Sultan felt it and looked startled. He reacted by moving back a bit, "what are you doing?"

"Nothing," Kendall said, trying to hide his dejection. He sat normally with a pout as they continued.  
__________________  
"Are we there yet?" Kendall asked.

It had been four days of nearly non-stop riding. Only stopping when they could no longer see and waking up before the sun was up.

"Almost," Sultan answered.

Kendall looked around and felt a cold sensation.

Magic.

Sultan's horse moved like it felt it too. There was no wind, it was like they were entering another dimension.

"Why are you so shifty?" Sultan asked after Kendall looked up sharply.

"Something is... off. Can't you feel it?"

"No, not exactly. Off how?"

"There is no..." he gasped, "stop!"

The entire company came to an abrupt stop.

An arrow whizzed by mere inches in front of Leon's face.

They were surrounded by men in dark blue Knight wears.

"Declare yourselves!" one of them ordered.

"We bring news from Camelot. We have urgent news for Lord Timothy. We come in peace," Sultan stated in rapid fire sentences.

The other group parted and at this point, Sultan was sweating buckets at this point. He had told himself he'd just deliver the information, the armor and sword and be on his way.

Now he didn't even know if he had it in him to face Lord Timothy. He felt faint.

The gates opened and Sultan could swear his heart had failed. He moved on autopilot till he got to the front of the black castle then he alighted. 

Leon took the armor and the sword from his horse and followed behind Sultan.

They were led into the throne room where Sultan stood in front of Lord Timothy. He was wearing a blank look that was almost hostile.

Lord Timothy was a well built hulky man. For someone in his late sixties, he still looked like he could fight a hundred more battles. His daughter was half his size and she sat beside him. She was slim and slight.

She did not take any of her father's brutal looks but instead looked like a snob.

"You may speak," Lord Timothy addressed in his booming voice.

"I am Knight Sultan of Camelot and this is Knight Leon. We bring grave news, My Lord. I'm afraid that, your son Anthony... Is dead," Sultan stated.

Leon lay Anthony's sword and armor at the king's feet.

Lord Timothy stared at the armor and sword for a while and Sultan wondered if he had heard.

"How did he die?" he asked suddenly, startling Sultan.

"He was killed on guard duty," Sultan replied and swiftly looked around. Kendall was nowhere to be seen.

"He was murdered within Camelot? Is this some kind of joke? You killed my son and come to insult me with your presence?" Lord Timothy stood up, he was very tall.

"No, my Lord," Leon defended.

"Guards, seize them! Uther will rue the day he took my only son from me," he ordered and the guards took them away.

That was all Sultan heard before everything went dark.

Hours later, Lord Timothy was in his room when someone walked in.

"What are you doing in here? Guards!" Lord Timothy called.

"Don't even bother. They're gone," Kendall stated.

"Who are you?" Timothy asked.

"I'm Kendall. But that's not important," he answered and Timothy felt himself freezing up.

He could not move.

"You do possess some magic but nowhere near as powerful as mine," Kendall said with a smirk. Timothy could not feel the ground and found himself floating above it.

Kendall unslung his backpack and placed it on the dresser. He took out a coin with the insignia of a three headed snake on it.

He walked close to the fireplace.

He gazed at the coin for a moment then spoke, addressing it, "Ah, meu vello amigo, a fomorra. Pásate á luz para cumprir."

Then he tossed it into the fire and Timothy heard hissing sounds. 

Kendall reached into the fire and brought out the three-headed creature to the surprise of a still paralyzed, levitating Lord Timothy.

The creature hissed.

"Oh okay okay. Calm down, calm down. Aww he's not used to the light. Well, friend I didn't call you out for no reason but for a very special purpose," he said.

Timothy just watched in awe. He had just seen Kendall switch from focused to panicking to cooing the creature like a pet and back to focused.

Kendall looked at him, "this is a fomorrah. It's probably familiar to you... No? Well, its purpose is to let me take control of your mind basically. Everything that makes you Timothy will be all but gone... Unless I want to keep some of it. I might, just so people don't get suspicious."

Kendall placed the fomorrah in a jar and cut one of its heads off. Another grew in its place.

Kendall walked back to Timothy went the still living head in his hand. He let Timothy sit, still paralyzed.

"Convérteo no meu monicreque e faga sempre a miña oferta, pero déixeo brutal para que a xente non o saiba," he pronounced.

"Also, I killed your son."

Kendall's eyes glowed gold and he shoved the Fomorrah into Timothy's neck. A short scream escaped him and he collapsed.

He smiled and exited the room.  
________

Sultan had been drifting in and out of wakefulness. Not being able to control himself.

He didn't know if he was imagining it but he saw Kendall standing above him in the cell with the cell door open.

He felt himself being hoistered up.

"Don't forget the others," he mumbled.

"Fuck," Kendall muttered.

Couple of minutes later, Leon, the few Camelot guards, Ahmed, Kendall and Sultan who was being supported by Leon were walking past the throne room.

"Are they dead?" Leon asked.

"No, they're asleep. They'll be up soon, I didn't get the guard at the bell tower. If he rings the bell and you're still in here, you're done for." Kendall replied.

"How did you get them asleep?" Ahmed asked.

"Less questions, more getting the hell out of here," Kendall stated and begun walking faster.

Just as they got to the castle doors, the bells began to toll.

"Shit," Kendall cursed.

"There's a carriage outside with Sultan's horse and three others outside," he informed.

"What about you?" Ahmed asked.

"Don't worry, I can take care of myself. Go, now!" Kendall returned.

They swiftly exited the building.

Kendall heard the horses stomp off just as Timothy's soilders burst into where he was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a translation of what Kendall says to Sultan's horse
> 
> *hello Cora, you're okay? He's taking good care of you, I see? You think he'd do the same for me? I think he's cute... hush don't say anything.*


End file.
